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On Barrow Beach, Co. Kerry…

The last week has been pretty wet, with about 2 to 3 times the average rainfall in general, while some parts of the east had close to four times the average. The driest areas were in north Mayo and northwest Donegal with amounts here near or below normal. Due to the mixed weather over the past 7 days, temperatures have been close to or slightly below average. It’s no surprise that southern coastal stations recorded about 60% of the average sunshine and the southeast recorded just above 50% of average sunshine. We’ve had plenty of wind at times too, so all in all just another summer week in Ireland.

salmon
One of many fish caught yesterday on the Munster Blackwater.

All the rain looked like just what the doctor ordered for salmon anglers, but in the end many rivers had a bit too much. In Donegal the Owenmore fished well after the rain, but the Drowes did not get much extra water and it had a mediocre catch. There were good numbers of anglers out on the Moy but as the levels rose and fell on a near daily basis the fishing was not easy going. The Erriff did well last week with over 30 salmon landed by Sunday. Kerry seems to have had a quiet time, though there were plenty of anglers out on the rivers by all accounts. The Munster Blackwater was out of action at the weekend but has been fishing well in the last few days.

Angler in boat holding beautiful spotted trout
Niall Gelston’s beautifully spotted trout wins Catch of the Week.

The mixed weather of last week was warmly welcomed by trout anglers. Angling on Corrib has shown an improvement with better sedge hatches and fresher conditions helping matters no end. We also have some competition results and other updates in from a number of midlands lakes which are fishing well.

Crayfish plague was confirmed today on the River Nore. The outbreak was detected at Kilkenny. Anglers are reminded of the absolute necessity to adopt good biosecurity practices to prevent the spread of waterborne fish and wildlife disease, and invasive species. for more information see Crayfish plague outbreak confirmed on River Nore at Kilkenny

Gordon, Will, Eric, Will and Dennis with part of their catch of Bream
Gordon, Will, Eric, Will and Dennis with part of their catch of Longford bream

Coarse anglers in the Longford area had some serious bags of fish. Prebaiting by guesthouse owner and guide Kevin Lyons saw huge dividends, particularly for a group of anglers from Blackpool. They had some incredible joint catches and one of the party recorded 130lb on his own. Meanwhile down at Inniscarra competition anglers were landing as much as 27.980kg a day in the 3 day festival fished over the weekend.

The blustery weather was not great for charter boat anglers. There were some good reports of skate and blue shark off the Cork Coast. There was also a bit of shore angling to report and Tralee Bay SAC had a beautiful evening on Barrow Beach.

Authorisations for Tuna CHART (CatcH and Release Tagging) valid from today

The 15 angling vessels who have received authorisations to participate in Tuna CHART (Catch and Release Tagging), a pilot Bluefin Tuna Data Collection programme, will today commence catching, tagging and releasing Atlantic Bluefin tuna for data collection purposes off the Irish coast.

The authorised vessels, which are located in Cork, Clare, Galway, Sligo and Donegal (See full list here) will support scientific work to increase knowledge of the behaviour and abundance of Bluefin Tuna in Irish waters. The authorisation for the 15 skippers will be valid from today until the 15th of October 2019 on a pilot basis.

Anglers wishing to engage in this fishery may do so on a sea angling vessel specifically authorised to participate in the pilot programme.  The Sea Fisheries Protection Authority and Inland Fisheries Ireland will undertake inspections and patrols around the coast to ensure this remains a strictly controlled fishery

And now the weather…

As we go to press South or southwest winds will increase to gale force 8 at times later this evening and overnight on all Irish coasts and on the Irish Sea. Unsettled weather is set to continue for the much of the week ahead. Rainfall patterns will reverse in the coming days and the northwest will wetter conditions. Elsewhere most areas are expected to record above average rainfall with the exception of the south and southeast. Saturday will see a bright fresh and blustery day with a mix of sunny periods and occasional passing showers. Southwest winds will be fresh to strong and gusty with winds reaching Gale force on north and west coasts. Highs of 16 to 19 Celsius. Sunday will be cool and showery with moderate to fresh and gusty southwest winds, with winds strong along coasts. Some of the showers heavy and prolonged with the odd thundery one possible especially in parts of the west and northwest. There will be some sunny spells between the showers. Highest temperatures 16 to 18 Celsius. Monday will be the same again. It could be better, but it could be a lot worse too…

Safe fishing to all this weekend and tight lines, especially here in Ireland.

Myles Kelly
Catch, Photo, Release

If you have an angling story to share with the Irish Angling Update please send it to [email protected].

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